


Puppet Show

by Akaruii



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 11:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12035082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akaruii/pseuds/Akaruii
Summary: Sometimes the show gets off track, but as long as it wraps up nicely, then it's good enough.





	Puppet Show

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try something different when I was writing this, so this format is going to be unique to this work alone unless I change my mind. Enjoy~! <3

_Humans._

_They are the marionettes of god. Their strings moving only for him and how ironic it is that their strings move in ways that God never intended. The puppets move to find happiness._

_This happiness is serendipity at its finest._

_God never intended for this to happen and neither did you. Though, since it’s already happened, the story will unfold regardless._

_Now, let the puppet show begin._

You hummed softly to yourself as you scribbled down a few things in your notebook. You glanced up at the mere sound of your doorbell chiming. You blinked several times; even squinting to recognize who was at the door of your atelier. You smiled as you recognized the woman to be one of your customers who came in earlier that week.

“Good morning. Have you come to confirm some of the details on your wedding plan?” you greeted, putting on your best smile. Though, to be honest, you were quite annoyed with how frequent her visits are to your studio. You quickly got off your arse and headed to the front where the woman stood, starting up a conversation with her as you did.

You motioned for her to head towards your desk as you went to the file cabinet to get her wedding plans out. You sighed as you heard another loud bang outside on the street. Everyone knew it was better not to question it or even bother to look into it. After all, the man clad in bartender clothing was most likely the culprit. And as usual, the cause of it was the presence of the infamous informant.

You sighed and frowned. You sometimes wished that he would stop coming to this part of town. It would’ve certainly made things more peaceful. People would certainly have a safer place to live in as well. Heiwajima Shizuo was a destructive monster, but that was only because of the single button someone kept pressing and that someone was the damned ‘flea’, as Shizuo would put it. You never bothered with learning his name nor would you want to.

“Now, where were we?” you asked, covering up your thoughts with a business smile.

You wished he never existed in the first place.

_And so the lights dim, signaling the end of the prologue. This is where the foreshadowing begins._

_A single moment can change the entire story. Our marionettist seems to have happy ending in store for you. Isn’t that great. What more do you want? Will you dance in the hands of God or will your strings decide to move itself? How badly do you want to know?_

_What’s this? It seems our great puppeteer has slipped on his timing… or has he?_

_Whatever the case may be, it seems one of his marionettes have decide to move without his order._

You let out a groan as soon as the door closed, the chiming signaling she had left. To be honest, being a wedding planner was harder than you thought. No. It was a whole lot more painful than hard. You dreamed of this job ever since you first opened your mother’s wedding album. However, seeing so many people break apart during just the planning, you honestly wondered if this job was what you wanted it to be. A job that united couples and created happiness was what you wanted; not seeing them break up during the planning stage even if you were the one doing the planning.

You quickly stuffed your personal belongings into a bag before slinging the strap over your shoulder and headed out. You hastily pulled out your keys before abruptly pushing the door open, nearly smacking it into someone. Surprised, you glanced up and locked eyes with vermillion ones. You blinked, mesmerized in the pools of red.

“That’s quite the aggressive door opening,” the man observed, his deep voice laced with amusement. You swore you heard this voice somewhere in your life.

“I apologize for that. I was… in a bit of a hurry to get home,” you explained, calmly closing the door and locking it. You looked over your shoulder, noticing the noiret still standing there. “Were you coming here to sign a contract?” you inquired, wondering if you had closed a minute too early. It was five minutes before the initial closing time, so you didn’t think that anyone would come knocking at your atelier. His eyes glanced up, reading the words printed onto the window in front of the mannequin dressed in a flowing white dress.

_Plan The Wedding Of Your Dreams!_

A smile made its way onto his lips.

“It seems I’ve come a bit too late,” he said, his eyes looking away in disappointment. You widened your eyes.

“I don’t have anyone scheduled to meet me tomorrow. If you want, I can schedule an appointment for you at around nine tomorrow morning. Is that okay with you?” you asked, putting on your business smile and began digging in your purse for your planner. Despite hating it, this was your job and you weren’t going to let a potential customer fall out of your grasp. After all, you needed to feed yourself and pay for the roof over your head. “Can you tell me your name and number?” you requested as you readied a pen.

“Oh, you’re already asking for my number. Quite the assertive woman you are,” the man joked. You raised an eyebrow at his joke.

“I’m well aware that you’re engaged, sir.”

“Correct!” You bit back another sigh, trying hard not to smack him.

“And your name and number?” you repeated, clearly irritated now. All you wanted to do was head home. You wanted to throw yourself into the soft mattress of your bed and sink into a happy dream. Clearly, that wasn’t happening soon.

“Do you not know me?” Your brows furrow together, questioning whether or not you should even ask about it. Noticing your behavior, he merely puts up a mask of lies and said, “Orihara Izaya. I’m quite a busy man, but since you don’t have an appointment tomorrow, it’s fine to come whenever as long as it’s within business hours, correct?” You hummed in agreement. “Then I’ll call you tomorrow before heading over here.”

“You know my number…?” You raised an eyebrow, hoping that it wasn’t true.

“Well, I wonder where I got that from,” Izaya said, motioning over to the phone number printed on the window of you studio.

“Right, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” you pondered aloud, making sure you weren’t hearing things. That would be quite the embarrassment.

“You can count on it, Miss (Name),” he assured you, turning on the heel of his foot to begin walking home. “Be careful on your way home. You never know what kind of people might be watching you.” You stared at his back, unsure of what he meant, but you weren’t even going to bother. Sure, you were quite the beauty and oddly enough, you weren’t in a relationship, but that never resulted in someone wanting to stalk you or even encourage you to do  _‘fun’_  things with them.

_Orihara Izaya._

You were sure that you’ve heard it somewhere. His voice seemed familiar as well. Why was that?

You cocked your head to the side as you thought about, but decided to ignore this nagging feeling and headed home. Little did you know, a pair of crimson eyes followed you as you made your way there.

_The first act ends and a murmur rises from within the crowd. Anyone can notice that this wasn’t in the program._

_Orihara Izaya was the puppet extra meant to set the stage for your life._

_Well, what can you say? The puppet wasn’t built with enough care. It explains why he has a few screws loose and it certainly explains why he malfunctioned and moved when he wasn’t supposed to. The marionettist knew quite well, but he decided to use it anyway. Now the extra has become the main character._

_This mere encounter was an accident of his; **a mistake.**_

_God needs to adlib now._

_…It doesn’t worry you at all? How odd. Think about it, dear marionette._

_**Your happy ending is on the line here.**_

_Did you think that all mistakes can end up as happy endings with a little adlibbing?_

_…That’s merely just wishful thinking._

You glanced at the clock placed on the wall, watching as the seconds ticked by slowly. You then moved your gaze to the door, wondering just exactly when the noiret planned on coming. It’s a few hours past nine and knowing that he could come anytime, you weren’t going off to lunch just yet. Your co-worker noticed you sighing as she walked by. She decides to ask since she took the day off yesterday.

“What’s wrong, (Name)? You seem on edge this morning.” You stared at her as she continued. “Did one of your clients come and bother you the entire time again?” You shook your head.

“I’m just waiting for someone to show up. It’s the first time someone stood me up.” She smiles softly and raises an eyebrow. “I meant to plan their wedding. You know I have no love life.” The brunette bursts out laughing.

“That’s an interesting way to put it. You’re not going to get a boyfriend at this rate if you consider wedding planning to be the perfect date,” she mused. However, you’re not in the mood for it, but just so you don’t dampen the mood, you decided to fake a laugh and retaliated playfully.

“Hey, you never know what might happen!” you joked, a huge smile plastered on your face. A soft chuckle erupts from her.

“If you say so, (Name)! I’m heading out for lunch. Make sure to hold the fort down while I’m gone,” your coworker reminded you before heading out to a café nearby. As soon as she left, you let out a sigh and slumped against your chair as you stared at your surroundings. Your ears perked up at the familiar sound of the bell chiming.

“Good afternoon, (Name)!” the deep voice chirped. You looked up at matched the voice with your customer, Izaya.

“It’s been a few hours later than the appointment time, Mr. Orihara. Was something holding you up?” you asked as he merely lets out a chuckle before walking up to your desk.

“Yeah, a dog was chasing me for quite some time before I managed to lose him. I wouldn’t want to bring a destructive little canine here to destroy your studio. After all, your work space is quite important,” Izaya replied, swiftly taking a seat in front of you.

“I suppose you’re right. Now then, let’s start. Can I have you sign here beforehand? Wedding planning is a lot of work, so if it somehow gets cancelled, I’d still want to be paid,” you stated as you placed a single piece of paper in front of him and placed a pen to sign with. You watched as he picked up the pen and elegantly scribbled down his name. “Thank you.”

You eyed the papers in your hand, reading through it carefully. What surprised you was that the contents inked onto the paper were exactly the details you wanted to apply to your wedding. Every sentence, every  _word_ described your dream wedding and because of that, you were envious of the man’s lover.

“Man, some girls get it all,” you mumbled in a soft voice as you quickly plopped yourself onto your sofa, continuing to read them. “Ah, I forgot to go check my mail,” you thought aloud as you slipped into something comfortable and headed out of your apartment and down the stairs to reach the front of the apartment complex. You quickly unlocked your box and was surprised at what was in there.

There was a single carnation placed there and a card was tied around its stem. You carefully untied the string and opened the card. It read;

_A carnation to express my fascination with you.  
May our relationship blossom._

“That’s sweet…” you murmured softly to yourself. Although you thought it was a bit odd that someone knew your address, you didn’t mind. It has been a long time since you’ve ever gotten any spice in your life and this was something that you needed to lift up your spirits. Of course, if it started to get out of hand, you would take precautions and call the police.

_Act two ends and the lights dim once more._

_Kudos to God for being able to handle this little mishap beautifully. Certainly, it does make quite an interesting story, but when it comes down to it all…_

_The main character is getting married. You’re planning the entire thing._

_Can you see a happy ending? At this point, the audience doesn’t know. You, as the puppet, don’t know what your puppeteer has in mind now. He’s screwed everything up._

_You were supposed to head out to lunch before your coworker and stumble upon an unfamiliar café. It looked nice and sweet, cozy even, but now you missed that chance. One of the waiters were supposed to catch your eye and then hit it off with you. You’d save him from the abusive relationship of the girl that was using him and then a beautiful love would blossom._

_**He was your perfect match.**_

_Now, he’s stuck with that girl because you weren’t there. He’s been erased from the cast of characters completely._

_How does it feel to know that? Horrible, right? But you can’t worry about that now. You’ve got a job to do and you’re going to do it to the best of your abilities whether you like it or not because…_

_You’re a clueless marionette in **his**  story of life._

_I would tell you to have some hope, but should I even bother? After all, you’re going to anyway._

_Welcome to intermission._

“What?”

“Like I said, (Name). I want you to take a little break. Lately, you haven’t even taken a day off and I’m starting to get worried that you’re overworking yourself. You look dead,” your coworker said, a sigh escaping her lips as you stared at her.

“Um, I don’t think I need any breaks. I have clients who are still in the planning stage. It is unprofessional to suddenly abandon a job for my own pleasure. I think you should reconsider because–” You immediately paused and sat back down in your seat, having no clue of when you even stood up. “Sorry,” you mumbled as you looked away from her, her frown giving away her thoughts.

“(Name), I can tell that you know that you’ve been overreacting to even the smallest things and I think it’s because you’ve been unconsciously stressing yourself out. I want you to take a break and sort everything out,” she stated, watching as you began to rethink about your actions.

“Okay… I’ll take this break,” you gave in after a while, taking slow, even breaths.

“I’m glad you understand.” You just nodded.

You took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly as you stood on the streets of Ikeburo. You quickly glanced at your phone, checking the time and finding it perfect for lunch. You quickly head to a nearby café, knowing exactly what you had in mind to eat. As you made your way there, you saw a familiar ruby color and of course, a spiky mess of black to accompany it.

“Mr. Orihara!” you called out to him, waving your hand up high to make sure he noticed you. You smiled widely upon seeing his eyes land on you. You never thought that you’d be so attached to one of your clients that you’d smile and grin widely when you lay eyes on him. In the last month or so, your feelings of neutrality slowly turned into a crush that you never thought was possible.

You quickly ran up to him, careful as to not drop your purse.

“Ah, (Name). Shouldn’t you still be working?” Izaya asked as he walked up to your huffing form that was bent over. You quickly caught your breath and straightened yourself.

“I decided to take some time off in order to relieve myself of some stress,” you replied, a soft smile gracing your lips.

“Oh, is that so? You did look a little tired when I visited you last week. Don’t overwork yourself now,” the noiret advised, his hand reaching up to your head and ruffling your hair. “Why don’t we start off with a little meal somewhere?” Your eyes lit up at his offer.

“Actually, that would be a wonderful–”

“Ah, but I’m afraid we have to make it quick though. I’ve got a date with someone in a bit. We’ll be visiting many places throughout Ikeburo,” Izaya interjected, cutting you off. Realization struck you as you were reminded of the situation.

You were crushing on an engaged man.

Even though it wasn’t right in your mind, you still couldn’t help but nurture that small warmth in your chest. Even if it was unrequited, it was nice to be hopeful, right? You didn’t mind only having him all to yourself for an hour or two. It was still a treasured moment of this crush and you were prepared to see him get married. It was your job after all, and you were going to fulfill them to the best of your abilities.

“Ah, right. I wouldn’t want to hold you up,” you mumbled in a barely audible voice. You began to walk. “I was about to head to a café nearby. If you don’t mind, let’s go there.”

“It seems you were quite prepared. Shall we go?” he mused as he took his time to approach you. You nodded before turning to find your way there, Izaya slowly following you. He had a small smile on his face, but that could’ve been easily mistaken for a smirk as well.

_A forget-me-not flower to tell you to have hope for your love is requited._

You blinked, smiling at the sweet note tied to the flower. As usual, it was sweet and albeit it being rare, these notes usually made you feel warm inside. You didn’t know who kept sending you these messages, but if you had to wish for someone, you would’ve wished it to be Izaya…

…but that wasn’t going to happen, now was it?

You brought the delicate flower to your chest, your lips pressed into a thin line as you whispered, “If only…”

_And with this, intermission ends._

_Nothing too exciting happens during this time. The marionettist was simply letting things unfold, figuring out what to do next; the puppets merely doing his bidding._

_You wonder what will become of you now. God says to keep calm and do things only as directed. It didn’t sound too convincing, but what else could you do? Without his guidance, your strings would simply fall loose and your body would fall limp._

_The only thing you can do is fix your appearance and prepare for the next act. Be honest. You know that playing out God’s adlibbed script was the worst thing you’ve ever done. Simply trying to keep up with it wears you down and you don’t know how much longer your strings would hold out. You were just doll blessed with your own puppeteer and every toy breaks down after being used too much._

_But the show never stops for anyone because you have an audience to entertain._

_**Good luck.**_

_You’re going to need it because you haven’t acted out the climax just yet._

_The lights are brought up on you and you begin the final act._

You have an idiotic grin on your face as you read the note accompanied with a yellow rose with red tips.

_This rose represents my obsession and fascination with you blooming into love.  
I hope yours would be as vibrant as the color of a red rose._

You slapped your cheeks lightly to get yourself out of the trance before getting up and heading out of your office, planning to get lunch. You picked up a folder to read through whilst you waited for your order at a café.

“You’re doing a good job today!” you complimented your coworker as you walked out of your office, holding a folder close to your side. The brunette smiles as she turns to face you.

“It seems you’re energized after that little break you took!” she observed, placing her things in her purse. You assume she’s getting ready to head home.

“It’s a great thing Mr. Orihara was very understanding. He was willing to put off the wedding planning by a week for me to take a break,” you blurted out, your happy mood having made your lips a little loose. The woman pauses as she hears the name.

“Mr. Orihara? As in Orihara Izaya?” she slowly begins to ask. You ignore her strange behavior and gave her a quick nod.

“Do you know him?”

“Who hasn’t heard of him? (Name), he’s  _Orihara Izaya_ , the information broker who’s always messing with Heiwajima Shizuo and the cause of his rampage. He’s the man you  _hate_  for disturbing the peacefulness around here,” she states, a hand placed on either of your shoulders. “There’s no way he’s engaged!” You widened your eyes as she continues before dropping the folder abruptly.

“…What?” You stand there for a moment, letting the information sink in before you quickly dashed out the building.

“(Name)?!” Before she could say anything else, you disappeared into the night crowd. She blinks and sighs. “I guess I’ll stay here until you get back…”

“Izaya!” you shouted as loudly as possible as you ran up to the said man. Hearing his name causes him to turn around.

“Oh, if it isn’t (Name)! It seems we’re close enough for you to be on a first name basis–” He was interrupted by you grabbing the collar of his jacket and pulling his face down to be on your eye level.

“You bastard! You lied to me! You weren’t engaged at all!” you yelled out in frustration as you glared at him. After you finished venting out your feelings, your grip loosens on his jacket collar and you rest your head against his chest, your gaze casted down.

“Oh? Did I make the young lady cry?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were  _the_  Orihara Izaya? I never knew your name, so I thought you were just some other man!” you continued venting, but now in a softer voice.

“My love, I was simply fascinated with the fact you haven’t heard of me. If anything, I just wanted to see your reactions and everything else about you. It was my obsession as of late,” he explains and you could feel him smirking. Your hands drop to your side.

“What am I supposed to do now? I was… so prepared to let you get married and… cast away my feelings,” you mumbled, your fingers curling into a fist. You were startled as you felt a pair of arms wrap around your gently.

“Then don’t. Love me all you want. The wedding is for you after all,” the noiret reveals. Your eyes widen and out of joy, you could feel the prickling sensation of tears at the corners of your eyes.

“You’re insane. We haven't even gone past dating yet.”

“Then fall down to insanity with me, (Name),” he suggested. His offer was just as crazy as the rumors circling around about him, but at the same time, it sounded like the best thing you ever heard. “So, (Name), is your answer the vibrant red rose or the yellow rose?”

“My love for you is as vibrant as the red rose,” you replied. He moves away slightly and you look up, surprised as he presents you with a red rose and a card. You carefully hold it in your hands, his fingertips brushing against yours as he retracts his hand.

“You seemed to be enthralled when I first put one in your box,” Izaya stated. Your eyes meet up with his crimson ones. “Yes, I put them there. At first, it was to watch you dance into my trap and then break your heart, but now I can’t exactly say that. You’re too interesting of a human to pass up keeping after all.” He glances at the card in your hand as if telling you to read it.

“How sly of you…” You hesitantly flipped it open, your hand shaking as you did.

_I’ll love you for as long as this rose remains in our memories._

“I love you too, Izaya,” you said as Izaya’s hand reached up to hold your chin up, his thumb tracing your lips.

“And do so for the rest of your life, my cute human,” he murmurs before placing his lips against yours.

"But we are going to go through the usual steps in romance first. That wedding will have to be postponed, but I do expect payment," you stated as the two of you parted lips.

"I suppose it can't be helped." 

_The kiss, **the finale** , wraps up the end of the third, and last, act of the show._

_The puppeteer lets out a sigh of relief when the crowd rises from their seats to give a standing ovation. The sound of their clapping tells God they loved the story he had woven. They would love to have seen it again, but this story was a once-in-a-lifetime thing._

_This story was just mere luck created from **serendipity.**_

_But still…_

_**You got your happy ending.** _

_At the curtain call for the marionettes, you had a smile. Even though your strings were nearly at breaking point, you still were able to play the part in God’s puppet show. Then, the curtains slowly close, signaling the end of the story._

_You’ve done a great job as his puppet._

_**La Fin** _


End file.
